Partially Open Skies

Updated March 7, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

The Wright brothers didn't fly an A380 at Kitty Hawk, and it was probably unrealistic to expect the U.S. and the European Union to completely liberalize their decades-old aviation-market rules in one fell swoop. The "Open Skies" deal tentatively reached Friday -- and still subject to approval by Congress and the EU's 27 member states -- leaves much hard work yet to be done. But for now, it would clearly open up the market for trans-Atlantic travel to more competition.